Sunday, November 17, 2013

I like to plan trips around my hobbies,
which means I will not bother leaving Anchorage unless I can
accomplish one of two things. First, continue my exploration of the
artisanal pickle world, perhaps by meeting a producer, tasting
product, or volunteering to shepherd free range cucumbers from their
summer to winter pastures. Or second, by visiting iconic bridges.
Really, other than the satisfying crunch of a perfectly brined and
seasoned Kirby, does anything satisfy the soul like a beautifully
designed conveyance across water?

To advance my appreciation of river
crossings, I launched my Tour of Iconic Bridges back in 2011. You've
probably seen my Kickstarter campaign, setup to fund my Tour
(although don't think that I haven't noticed that you haven't
contributed). The Tour got off to a bang-up start, with an early
visit to the Tower Bridge in London.

The Tour slowed significantly thereafter due to lack of activity on my Kickstarter page, but last month
I had the opportunity to visit the Brooklyn Bridge.

And now I got to visit the Golden Gate
Bridge early this month, hopefully a sign that the Tour's momentum is
really picking up.

With any luck, you will find the above
photos inspirational, pull out your credit card, and rush to make a
donation. Feel free to recommend another Iconic Bridge as a stop on the Tour at the same
time. Perhaps the Trenton Makes bridge from Trenton New Jersey?

Since we were already in San Francisco
to admire the bridge, C and I decided to make good use of our time
and attended Alex and Daniel's wedding. They exchanged vows and then
proceeded to impress us all by serving a fascinating selection of artisanal pickles at the reception. Other highlights? The
chance to join the hungry crowds on Mission St. at 1 a.m. looking for
burritos, stumbling upon a ukulele orchestra playing Sinatra tunes in
the Presidio while hiking a big loop through the city, and realizing
that the tourist zone in and around Union Square still bumps up
against the city's rougher edges when gun shots rang out somewhere
outside our hotel late one night. Three rapid shots, followed
shortly thereafter by a flood of police cars rushing up Taylor
Street. Nothing in the paper, which left me to assume that the gun
play involved some dispute over an artisanal pickle sale gone bad.
San Francisco's pickle mongers are, by reputation, some of the most
territorial and fierce to be found. It will probably be safer to
just focus on the bridges from here on out next time we travel.